AfCFTA Advancements: Mobilization of SME across African Nations

Imagine, globally speaking, if any leadership across the world created 1000 enterprises within a country, say each enterprise in shape, size and speed of something like Amazon, this mammoth feat currently almost impossible but in any event will that ensure the economic prosperity of a nation? Not really, because it is not complicated to explain as the real benefits all climb to the top whenever there is a single monolithically organization. Here we are multiplying this with 1000 times, just study more on Google.

Now, imagine creating a million small medium enterprises and manufacturers all on upskilling and reskilling platforms, globally connected on entrepreneurial digital economies. Now imagine, if they were increasingly upskilled global age thinkers, growing with diversity, tolerance and creating goods and services for the 200 nations and 10,000 cities. Now imagine if each enterprise with a potential of adding 10-50 additional new jobs, would this provide a better model.

Of course, although it is all extremely difficult, still it is far more doable provided big government, big business and big trade groups allow that. After all they all serve big business in priority, at times rightfully so. This is why Amazon can stop Cabinet meetings with one phone call in most countries. There is now a new tussle between big business and advanced armies of digitized small businesses. Big business is big but small business is much bigger. Million digitized SME in any country can cast a giant shadow on some of the largest businesses. The challenges are to upskill economic gatekeepers of the some 200 nations on the new realities and futurism . There are some 100 national elections scheduled across the world within the next 500 days. Africa has amazing opportunities to mobilize midsize economies, upskill exporters and reskill manufacturers but for the untapped and most dynamic upcoming continent of Africa, we need answers.

The African Questions: Are there 1000 or 10,000 small medium enterprises within a region or a nation currently doing USD$1 million to USD$20 million in annual turnover and ready to quadruple their performance, productivity and profitability and display their goods and services on the global stage? Are national regions ready for national mobilization of entrepreneurialism on digital platforms? Are local trade groups, chambers and associations of the nation in agreement to uplifts for exportability? Are local agencies fully skilled to cope with such global-age transformational challenges? What are the benefits when such issues are not new funding dependent, rather execution and mobilization starved? What is stopping a senior level discussion?

Cold Facts & Warm Realities: Most nations are already flooded with massive innovations, but lacking massive commercialization. There are over certifications and degrees but seriously lacking business directions. There are empty incubators and exhausted accelerators like real estate projects. There are economical development programs but without mega punch.

The Global Facts: The world can easily absorb unlimited exportable ideas in unlimited vertical markets. The well-designed innovative ideas are worthy of such quadrupled volumes. The entrepreneurial and dormant talents of a nation are capable of such tasks. The new global age skills, knowledge and execution are now the only missing links.

Professor Dr. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim , PhD, is the First Female and 6^thPresident of the Republic of Mauritius from 2015 to 2018. She is a biodiversity scientist, an entrepreneur, author and a public speaker, now appointed President of Expothon Africa, a division of Expothon Worldwide, a Canadian think tank. A decade in making, Expothon is now planning a series of high-level virtual conference events with African leadership bodies already mandated to foster economic growth. More information is available via LinkedIn.

How to mobilize midsize economy across a nation in Africa:

Digital-divide is mental-divide; resistance to change, fear of entrepreneurialism both amongst bureaucracies and amongst academia plays a big role. Nations already missing submersion in digitalization are suffering the most and in need of major transformation. One: Identify midsize businesses and create a national agenda to upskill SME on innovative excellence and exportability.

Two: Deploy trade associations on digital platforms so memberships skate nationally and globally. Three: Quadruple midsize economy via upskilling for micro-exports and reskilling micro manufacturing. Explore how Expothon Africa is expanding across the African continent and planning various systematic approaches for many nations. What are the key lessons while the new global TV Show series focused and readies on critical grassroots prosperity solutions? Regions best bring like-minded trade groups and agencies and create high quality virtual events for local leaderships. The time to change has already passed, the time to mobilize and revolutionize has arrived. Study more on Google.

The rest is easy